Keage Incline
Okazaki, Kyoto
The Keage Incline is a 582 m inclined railway that carried canal boats up and down a 36 m drop on wheeled carriages, so cargo never had to be unloaded. It was the longest in the world when it was built. The rails are still there, and you can walk the whole slope between rows of cherry trees.
Insider tip
You can walk the rails freely, and there's no ticket. Look for Nejiri-manpo, the brick tunnel under the incline, whose bricks are laid in a spiral so it looks like it's twisting.
What the guides say about Keage Incline
13. Okazaki and the canal. Nanzen-ji's 22 m Sanmon has a balcony you can climb (¥600), and a red-brick aqueduct carries the Lake Biwa Canal past the temple. Walk the rails of the Keage Incline, 582 m of old boat railway, for free. Murin-an lets in 15 people at a time on hourly slots you book online.
What's on near Keage Incline
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Keage Incline, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Awata Matsuri
粟田神社大祭（粟田祭）
Time Night lantern procession 11 Oct from 17:00, kenboko procession 12 Oct from 10:00 Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 7 min walk
Awata Shrine's main festival runs for six days. Come on the evening of 11 Oct for the Awata Daitoro, big painted lanterns paraded through the parish, or on 12 Oct from 10:00 for the kenboko halberds, said to be the forerunners of the Gion Matsuri floats.
Awata Matsuri
粟田神社大祭（粟田祭）
Time Yowatari from 17:00 (Sun), procession from 10:00 (Sports Day) Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 7 min walk
Awata Shrine's festival runs over the Sports Day weekend. The Oide-matsuri is on the Saturday evening and the Yowatari night procession on the Sunday, and on Sports Day kenboko halberds, said to be the forerunners of the Gion Matsuri floats, go out ahead of the mikoshi. The main rite follows on 15 October.
Kyoto City Zoo Autumn Night Opening
京都市動物園 秋の夜間開園
Time 10 to 12, 17, 24 and 31 Oct and 7 Nov, open to 20:00 (last entry 19:30) Station Keage (Tozai Line), 7 min walk
On seven autumn days the zoo stays open until 20:00 and is lit after dark, with keeper talks at 17:30, 18:00 and 18:30 and an outdoor film at 19:00 from 12 Oct. Entry is the usual ¥750, free for junior high school students and younger, and gorillas, monkeys and some birds aren't on show at night.
inunami, CC BY 2.0 Shoren-in Autumn Night Viewing
青蓮院 夜の特別拝観（秋季）
Time 18:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:30) Station Jingu-michi bus stop (City Bus 5), 5 min walk
Shoren-in's main image is a Buddha wrapped in light, so the whole temple is lit as an artwork, from inside the halls to the pond garden, the bamboo grove and the giant camphor trees. Its hilltop sister site, Shogunzuka Seiryuden, isn't holding a night viewing in 2026.
nichols-villa, CC BY-SA 2.0 Eikan-do Autumn Treasure Exhibition
永観堂 秋の寺宝展
Time 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:00) Station Nanzenji Eikando-michi bus stop (City Bus 5), 3 min walk
Eikan-do brings out Important Cultural Properties from its collection while its roughly 3,000 maples turn. The ¥1,500 ticket includes the garden, and the nearest bus stop, Nanzenji Eikando-michi, closes at the busiest times.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 Nearby
Around Okazaki
Art museums, Meiji gardens and Nanzen-ji along the Lake Biwa Canal
Okazaki is Kyoto's museum quarter. Two art museums sit either side of the approach to Heian Shrine, by its giant torii, and the zoo, a crafts museum and ROHM Theatre Kyoto are a few minutes away round Okazaki Park. Follow the Lake Biwa Canal east and you're at Nanzen-ji, with Eikan-do and Murin-an a short walk from its gate.
Okazaki has 27 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 9 shrines and temples, 6 museums, 4 restaurants, 2 cafes, 2 shops, 2 landmarks and 2 parks and gardens. Read the Okazaki guide.
Good to know
- How do I get to Keage Incline?
- The nearest station is Keage (Tozai Line). Keage Incline is in Okazaki, Kyoto.
- How much does Keage Incline cost?
- Nothing. Keage Incline is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Keage Incline?
- Plan for 30 min.
- When is the best time to visit Keage Incline?
- Early morning in cherry season.
Stay near Keage Incline
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